After months of closure due to coronavirus, cinemas reopened in France on Monday. But the releases of several American films, scheduled for July and August, have been postponed, which worries the cinemas that relied on the latter to attract large audiences this summer.

French cinemas reopened their theaters on Monday under strict health protocol, after more than three months of closure due to the coronavirus crisis. But while film professionals were counting on American films to fill their theaters this summer, several long-awaited feature films saw their release postponed.

>> LIVE - Coronavirus: follow the evolution of the situation Friday June 26

Tenet's exit   postponed

The release of the blockbuster  Tenet , the new film by Christopher Nolan, scheduled for July, has been postponed again due to the plight of the coronavirus in the United States, we learned on Friday. A new postponement which is added to that of  Wonder Woman 1984  by Patty Jenkins, postponed to October 2 when it was originally due to be released on August 14. Mulan , the Disney live-action film, which was also due to be released in July, is also likely to be delayed. 

"The deprogramming of American films is not good news," reacted Friday on Europe 1 Richard Patry, the president of the National Federation of French Cinemas, who notes "reasons for concern among [his] colleagues".

CORONAVIRUS ESSENTIALS

> Coronavirus in China: should we worry about the new situation?

> Schools, taxes, fight against racism… What you should remember from Emmanuel Macron's speech

> Coronavirus: 5 mistakes not to make with your mask

> Coronavirus: three initiatives that will disrupt our beach habits

> Between empty TGV and TER at a discount, SNCF is preparing for a bad summer

> Can we catch coronavirus on a plane?

Professionals were counting on American films to attract people to theaters this summer. They will therefore have to rely only on the success of French films like Tout simply noir, Divorce club by Michaël Youn or Été 85 by François Ozon, to bring spectators to the cinema in July and August.

Over 500,000 admissions since Monday

As for admissions, Monday and Tuesday, attendance at cinemas was around 60 to 70% compared to the same period last year. It then slowed down a bit over the next few days. In total, just over 500,000 French people have gone to see a film at the cinema since the reopening of theaters. A much smaller result than that of a classic week where several million admissions are usually recorded.

>> READ ALSO -  "Going to the movies is sacred": Olivier Nakache welcomes the reopening of dark cinemas

"What is important is that the spectators come back", rejoices all the same Richard Patry. For him, "the comparison of figures is useless". "There was no coronavirus last year, it was the week of the cinema festival in 2019, inevitably nothing can be compared, so I think we have to stop", underlines the president of the Federation National of French Cinemas.